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Actions Displays	Details Remove from selection Add to selection Object number COLNH:G1038 Institution name Colchester Collections Object name nautilus, mollusc Description The nautilus is a marine cephalopod mollusc - animals with no backbones but with tentacles or arms, like a shrimp and octopus . The Chambered Nautilus is known as a ‘living fossil’, which means that it has remained relatively unchanged for millions of years. They first appeared around 550 million years ago during the early Palaeozoic era. Their spiral shell has up to 30 chambers, created as the animals grow. By changing the amount of gas in the empty chambers the Nautilus can control their buoyancy and move up and down in the water. Nautili are very slow growing, taking 15-20 years to reach maturity. They only lay a few eggs which means that their reproduction rate is very low. This is one of the reasons that they are threatened with extinction. They are heavily fished for their attractive, desirable patterned shells and traded internationally. The Chambered nautilus is now protected by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Subject Geology Scientific name (Common Name) Nautilidae (Nautiloid) Location On Display - Natural History Museum, Colchester Tags Comments Add tag(s) Add comment

Object number

COLNH:G1038
Institution name

Colchester Collections
Object name

nautilus, mollusc
Description

The nautilus is a marine cephalopod mollusc - animals with no backbones but with tentacles or arms, like a shrimp and octopus . The Chambered Nautilus is known as a ‘living fossil’, which means that it has remained relatively unchanged for millions of years. They first appeared around 550 million years ago during the early Palaeozoic era. Their spiral shell has up to 30 chambers, created as the animals grow. By changing the amount of gas in the empty chambers the Nautilus can control their buoyancy and move up and down in the water. Nautili are very slow growing, taking 15-20 years to reach maturity. They only lay a few eggs which means that their reproduction rate is very low. This is one of the reasons that they are threatened with extinction. They are heavily fished for their attractive, desirable patterned shells and traded internationally. The Chambered nautilus is now protected by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Subject

Geology
Scientific name (Common Name)

Nautilidae (Nautiloid)
Location

On Display - Natural History Museum, Colchester

Details